16 May Ignorance Is Its Own Reward

Doing your job as an American citizen is hard, if you take that job seriously. Taking your job as citizen seriously involves, among other things, doing the due diligence required to ascertain something approximating the truth when deciding for whom to cast your vote.

That’s usually not easy, as multiple sources publish multiple accounts of events that may or may not have even occurred. You have to evaluate the sources themselves, and you have to assign degrees of credibility to those same sources, and then measure the sources against each other, in order to build a case for yourself so that you can try to learn who is telling the truth.

Or, you can be lazy and callous with your vote and your citizenship, and just go with your gut and whatever conspiracy theories you’re hearing on your favorite partisan propaganda outlet.

Which brings us to President Donald Trump, who just fired the guy heading the investigation into Trump’s connections to Russia and its leaders, spies and mob. And who, the next day, held a meeting with the Russian ambassador and other Russian officials, closed the meeting to the American press and then proceeded to spill sensitive classified information that the Russians can use to the detriment of our country, our allies and our intelligence sources.

Citizens taking their civic duties seriously could have easily seen this coming. For instance, several dozen foreign and national security affairs experts, all of whom served past Republican presidents, warned the American public back on Aug. 8, 2016, what we would be in for if we allowed Trump to get near the White House. It’s interesting for me to look back at this letter, published in several news outlets at the time, to see just how right these folks were:

The undersigned individuals have all served in senior national security and/or foreign policy positions in Republican Administrations, from Richard Nixon to George W. Bush. We have worked directly on national security issues with these Republican Presidents and/or their principal advisers during wartime and other periods of crisis, through successes and failures. We know the personal qualities required of a President of the United States.

None of us will vote for Donald Trump.

From a foreign policy perspective, Donald Trump is not qualified to be President and Commander-in-Chief. Indeed, we are convinced that he would be a dangerous President and would put at risk our country’s national security and well-being.

Most fundamentally, Mr. Trump lacks the character, values, and experience to be President. He weakens U.S. moral authority as the leader of the free world. He appears to lack basic knowledge about and belief in the U.S. Constitution, U.S. laws, and U.S. institutions, including religious tolerance, freedom of the press, and an independent judiciary.

In addition, Mr. Trump has demonstrated repeatedly that he has little understanding of America’s vital national interests, its complex diplomatic challenges, its indispensable alliances, and its democratic values on which U.S. foreign policy must be based. At the same time, he persistently compliments our adversaries and threatens our allies and friends. Unlike previous Presidents who had limited experience in foreign affairs, Mr. Trump has shown no interest in educating himself. He continues to display an alarming ignorance of basic facts of contemporary international politics. Despite his lack of knowledge, Mr. Trump claims that he understands foreign affairs and “knows more about ISIS than the generals do.”

Mr. Trump lacks the temperament to be President. In our experience, a President must be willing to listen to his advisers and department heads; must encourage consideration of conflicting views; and must acknowledge errors and learn from them. A President must be disciplined, control emotions, and act only after reflection and careful deliberation. A President must maintain cordial relationships with leaders of countries of different backgrounds and must have their respect and trust.

In our judgment, Mr. Trump has none of these critical qualities. He is unable or unwilling to separate truth from falsehood. He does not encourage conflicting views. He lacks self-control and acts impetuously. He cannot tolerate personal criticism. He has alarmed our closest allies with his erratic behavior. All of these are dangerous qualities in an individual who aspires to be President and Commander-in-Chief, with command of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

We understand that many Americans are profoundly frustrated with the federal government and its inability to solve pressing domestic and international problems. We also know that many have doubts about Hillary Clinton, as do many of us. But Donald Trump is not the answer to America’s daunting challenges and to this crucial election. We are convinced that in the Oval Office, he would be the most reckless President in American history.

Donald B. Ayer, former Deputy Attorney GeneralJohn B. Bellinger III, former Legal Adviser to the Department of State; former Legal Adviser to the National Security Council, The White HouseRobert Blackwill, former Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Planning, The White HouseMichael Chertoff, former Secretary of Homeland Security; former Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, Department of JusticeEliot Cohen, former Counselor to the Department of StateEric Edelman, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy; former National Security Advisor to the Vice President, The White HouseGary Edson, former Deputy National Security Advisor, The White HouseRichard Falkenrath, former Deputy Homeland Security Advisor, The White HousePeter Feaver, former Senior Director for Strategic Planning, National Security Council, The White HouseAaron Friedberg, former Deputy National Security Advisor to the Vice President, The White HouseDavid Gordon, former Director of Policy Planning, Department of StateJ. Michael Green, former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Asia, National Security Council, The White HouseBrian Gunderson, former Chief of Staff, Department of StatePaul Haenle, former Director for China and Taiwan, National Security Council, The White HouseMichael Hayden, former Director, Central Intelligence Agency; former Director, National Security AgencyJohn Hillen, former Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military AffairsWilliam Inboden, former Senior Director for Strategic Planning, National Security Council, The White HouseJames Jeffrey, former Deputy National Security Advisor, The White HouseDavid Kramer, former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and LaborPeter Lichtenbaum, former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export AdministrationMary Beth Long, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security AffairsRichard Miles, former Director for North America, National Security Council, The White HouseAndrew Natsios, former Administrator, U.S. Agency for International DevelopmentJohn Negroponte, former Director of National Intelligence; former Deputy Secretary of StateMeghan O’Sullivan, former Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and AfghanistanTom Ridge, former Secretary of Homeland Security; former Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, The White House; former Governor of PennsylvaniaNicholas Rostow, former Legal Adviser to the National Security Council, The White HouseKori Schake, former Director for Defense Strategy, National Security Council, The White HouseKristen Silverberg, former Assistant Secretary of State for International OrganizationsStephen Slick, former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Intelligence Programs, National Security Council, The White HouseShirin R. Tahir-Kheli, former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Democracy, Human Rights and International Operations, National Security Council, The White HouseWilliam H. Taft IV, former Deputy Secretary of Defense; former Ambassador to NATOLarry Thompson, former Deputy Attorney GeneralWilliam Tobey, Former Deputy Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy; former Director for Counter-Proliferation Strategy, National Security Council, The White HouseJohn Veroneau, former Deputy U.S. Trade RepresentativeMatthew Waxman, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense; former Director for Contingency Planning and International Justice, National Security Council, The White HouseDov Zakheim, former Under Secretary of DefenseRoger Zakheim, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of DefensePhilip Zelikow, former Counselor to the Department of StateRobert Zoellick, Former U.S. Trade Representative; former Deputy Secretary of State

And, as it already has turned out, they were right. But it doesn’t matter. Because a huge group of Americans not only failed to conduct due diligence of the person they voted for in the presidential election – they continue to willfully fail to evaluate his ability to serve in office.

Thus, not only are we mired with a demonstrably corrupt, mentally incompetent president who already has committed multiple acts that constitute grounds for impeachment, we may well be mired with him for at least four years. Because the public still is insufficiently motivated to become alarmed over President Trump’s behavior. The latest Gallup polling, for instance, showed that, even after he fired the FBI director and admitted doing so at least in part to quash the Russian investigation, 38% of the American public still supports Trump.

Granted, the latest poll was conducted before the press reported Trump had given the Russians damaging classified information, but does anyone think Trump’s core supporters will change their minds even after learning the latest? I don’t. And without a groundswell of public outpouring upon the ears and phone lines of Congress, this Congress will take no action against a president from their own political party. Because they believe they owe fealty to (1st) their campaign contributors, (2nd) their political party, and then, maybe, (3rd) their country.

For anyone who hasn’t seen it, I recommend renting a copy of the 2006 film Idiocracy right away. It’ll give you an excellent idea of what, absent a political miracle, life will be like here in very short order.